Submersible toy



Dec. 20, 1960 A. RUIZ SUBMERSIBLE TOY Filed Aug. 25, 1959 A/PMAwa Ra/z INVENTOR.

BY val/2.2 e

Z to a toy which simulates a'submarine. f

. ffa water-filled tank at a predetermined rate method of operation,- together with further objects and "J is to be expresslyunderstood,'howevery-lthatthe-drawing is fortlie purpose ofillus tration and example only, and

2,964,874 surMr s Lrror-W Armando Ruiz, Bell, Calif. (4123. Palm Ave.', Alhambi'a, Filed Au 2511959, SerQNo. 835,892"

4 Claims. I cr d6 v This invention relates to toys, andlmor e particularly i y n is a object of the present revenue t ,brdvide 'a toy which will automatically submerge or descend within Another object of the present invention is' to provide a toy. submarine which'will norrnallyfloat near the sur- 7 face'ofthe liquid in which it is 'disposedhut which may be caused to descendbelow the surface thereoff'at apiedetermined rate of descent. 1 i H 1 therobject of the prjes ent inventionis to provide 2 F toy submarine whichfincludes a novel valvingarrangemerit permitting itto automatically dive and aseend within L Yet anotherobject' of the present inve is to pro- -vide a toy submarinebf the clia'racter descr bed whichfin fappearance and performance lsimulatesgthe' divie ia'nd iascentof a'fullsc ale submarin'e. i V l In accordance with, the iprese'n'tly preferredjer'nbodij mentofthis invention the'toyfinclucles ahol low', generally gene elongate may siinula'ting the' ,shape offlth'ehull er a :"submarine, Extending IZOm the ,upper, surface into an jflopen'ing within the hull, is af sub st'antially hollow cylin- "dricalj chamber whichfsimulat'esthe conning tower of a submarine. Theconning tower"is essentially a flexible eflfect a hermetic s'eal therebetw eh; A flexible diaphragm whichfs'erves' as a two-Way air valve, is .lsecured to the v lower end of theconning tower wheret iebpening there- "throilgh communicates {vfvithfthe hollov'vlinterior"'oflthe I Thevalvewhich is preferably of flexiblei-rubber,v serves to admit air from the conning tower byiexhaus'tion thereg from into the hollow, of the hullgthus efiec t ively substan- .il a lfed y i r e h b' Ta is joined to th hull t 40.

J tially reducing the volume of the flexible conningtower f jwhich willthus bein'a substantiallyfcollapsed state. The l ve. is adapted waamit aairgrrom thetower into the hull at areljativelyhigli'r' e. Means are provided for readmitting air froi n'thehollowhull into the hollow conn ing tower atfa slower'rate; Thus; after an extending periodo'f timelthe conning towerlwill again he inflated andwill thus assume its original shape and volume. r This increase; and decrease in the volumeof the hullawill cause an overall effective decrease and-increase in the volume, 5 of the entire submarine ithus changing the volume of water displaced thereby. The weight of the entire submarine is chosen so that it will rbarely float,;when thetower isinflated, thus it. will sink hen it isexhausted.

The novel features which-are believed to be characteristic of the invention' both as" to .its organization and advantages thereof will be better understood from the" following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in'which two embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example. It

Patented Dec. '20, 19%

a toy submarine in accordance with the presently pre 'ferred embodiment of the present invention; I ure 2 i a perspective view showing the submarine 0 Figure 1 on a somewhat reduced scale during the divin sequence;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along lint 33 ofFigure 1; Y J

Figure 4 shows the valve of Figure 3 asit will appea: after the flexible walled chamber has been exhausted o: trapped air; t

Figure 5 is a perspective view of thediaphragrn ai1 valveof Figures 3 and 4; and

Figures 6 and 7 are sectional views showing an alter native valve arrangement somewhat modified from that shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Referringnow to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 1, there is shown a front elevation of a toy submarine generally designated'by. the numeral 10. The

toy submarine includes an elongate hollow hull section 1] and an upwardly extending hollow conning tower section .12.substantially cylindrical in shape. The tower 12 is se- .sectibnisrnade ofarigidmaterial such as plastic. Ex- -tendingverticallydownward amidshipfromthe hull'is a lballastsection 22' which-provides additional weight and stability-to the vessel while adding to the simulated appearance ofasubmarine. e

The hollow conning tower 12 which rises vertically from the upper surface of the hull 11 substantially along a vertical-axis extending through the hull and ballast sections. is defined by a substantially flexible wall and roof. The conning tower-12includes an extension 24 which defines a shoulder region 26.- The extension 25 extends within opening 15 through hull- 11 while the jshoulder region, 26 rests upon the outer surface of the hull. Thus, the hollow of the hull communicates'with thefhollow ,of the conning tower. Referring now to Figures 1 and 3,7secured beneath the opening 30 at the end of-the extension 26 is an air valve 35. Air valve 35 provides a novel means for automatically causing the entire submarine to dive and ascend in amanner as will hereinafter be explained. The valve 35 is formed of a generally disc-shaped diaphragm of flexible material such as rubber, and as best seen in Figure 5.

Two generally arc-shapedopenings 38are defined by the valve 35 near opposite ends of a diameter thereof.

.At the center of the diaphragm'a small pin hole til-is provided which is considerably smaller in cross section than openings 38. The diaphragm 35 is secured about the periphery of the extension 26 near the edge thereof by means of a ring clamp 39. Thus, the openings 38 are just above the lower edge of the extension 26 when the valve is inits normal position. The submarine floats in itsnormal or equilibrium position with the conning tower 12 extending partly above the water line 5. This is accomplished by weighting the vessel properly in order that it will float thus. In order to cause the vessel to dive below'the surface, i.e., to the bottom of a tank for example, the user submerses the same by gripping the tower 12, as shown in Figure 2. The tower isthen squeezed, causing the air to'be evacuated therefrom and discharged into, he hull section 11 through the relatively large open ings 38 within diaphragm 35. Thusg'a partial vacuum will be created within the flexible walled conning tower.

G This partial vacuum will have two effects. Firstly, it will force the lower part of the flexible diaphragm to be sucked up into the tower causing it to assume a shape as shown in Figure 4. Thus, the openings 38 will effectively be temporarily closed as the sidewalls of the diaphragm surrounding and defining the openings38 will be drawn flush against the exterior wall of the extension 25. ''Secondly, the partial vacuum within the tower" will result in the effective collapse of the side walls of the tower as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3, due to the external water pressure. Thus, the volume of the tower will be substantially reduced.

Archimedes principle states that a body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up with a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. As was previously mentioned, the vessel is so weighted as to cause it .to float with but a portion of the conning tower extending above the waterline. As

that part of the towers volume displaces a predetermined volume of water, it follows that its volume contributes to the buoyant force causing the vessel to remain afloat.

Upon exhaustion of the air from the tower, its volume will be substantially reduced thereby causing the trapped air within the tower to no longer displace the same volphragm, the air pressure gradient between the hull side and the tower side of the diaphragm will cause the air exhausted from the conning tower to slowly leak back into the tower. This return air flow is indicated by the arrows in Figure 4. Thus, the tower will again assume its initial shape, causing a greater volume of water'to be displaced and the submarine will thus slowly ascend to the equilibrium position shown in Figure 4.

In Figures 6 and 7 there is shown a partial sectional view of an alternate valve arrangement in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment all parts are the same as that described 'hereinabo e. The only difference exists in connection with the valve itself. Herein the val e includes a diaphragm 60 of resilient rubber or the like. T e di phragm is similar to that of Figure 5 except that it has but one small central hole 61 of equivalent size to hole 40 of di phr gm 35.

Diaphragm 61 is secured to the extension of the flexible conning tower 12 by means of an elastic band 65, as may best be seen in Figure 6. In operation, and as shown in Figure2', the user grips the flexible side walls of the tower 12 and compresses them thereby forcing the trapped air from the flexible wall chamber 12, causing the air to exhaust out of the flexible wall chamber into the hollow chamber defined by the hull portion. The air escapes by passing between the outer wall of the'extension 25 by forcing the resilient band 65 to somewhat expand under the increased air pressure, and the air follows the path as indicated by the arrows in Figure 6. Thus. an effective partial vacuum will be created as explained hereinabove in connection with Figures 3 and '4, I and the diap ragm will be sucked into the conning tower as is shown in Figure 7, resulting in the closing otfbf the air escape path along the exterior side wallof the extension 25. Thereafter, as was explained in connection with Figure 4, the air pressure gradient resulting from the fact that air under increased pressure is within the hull portion and the partial vacuum exists in the conning tower portion, will cause the air to slowly leak back into the conning tower portion through the small opening 61 whereby the conning tower will again become inflated, causing it to assume its original shape and volume. Thus,

the effect of diving and ascension of the submarine will be accomplished in a manner substantially as explained hereinabove with respect toflthe first embodiment.

There has thus been explained a new and improved toy which will automatically dive and ascend within a liquid such as water by a novel valve means. Various modifications and improvements may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, as will be clear to one skilled inthe art. While a submarine has been depicted as the toy, various other shapes may be used, such as one simulating a diver, a fish, or the like. Further, while trapped air is indicated as the gas within the vessel, other gases "may be used.

I claim: I

1. A toy adapted for submersion and ascension within a liquid including: a substantially rigid hollow body of a predetermined shape, said body defining a first opening through one part of a wall thereof; a flexible walled "chamber defining a second opening, said flexible walled chamber rising substantially vertically from said body,

said flexible walled chamber being connected to said body "so that said first and second openings are in communication; valve means for selectively admitting a gas at a predetermined rate from said flexible walled chamber into said'h'ollow' body thus to reduce the volume of said flexible walled chamber upon expulsion of the gas therefrom,

said valve means being adapted to readmit the gas exhausted from said flexible walled chamber at a rate slower than said predetermined rate thereby to cause said flexible walled chamber to again assume its original volume.

2. A toy adapted for submersion and ascension within water including:' a substantially rigid hollow body of a "predetermined shape,said body defining a first opening through one part of a wall thereof; a flexible walled chamber defining a second-opening, said flexible walled chamber being connected to said body so that first and "second openings are in communication, said flexible Walled "chamber and said body being at least partially filled with air; valve means for selectively admitting air at a predetermined rate from said flexible walled chamber into said hollow body upon compression of the flexible wall of said flexiblewalled chamber into said hollow body thus to'reduce the volume of said flexible walled chamber upon expulsion of the air therefrom, said valve means being adapted to readmit the air exhausted from said flexible walled chamber from said body at a'rate slower than said predetermined rate thereby to cause said flexible walled chamber to again assume its original volume.

3. A toy adapted for submersion and ascension within water includingz'a substantially rigid hollow body of a predetermined shape, said body defining a first opening *through'one part'of the'wall thereof; a flexible walled "chamber defining a second opening, said flexible walled chamber being connected to said body so' that first and second openings are in communication, said toy being adapted to float in water so that part of said flexible walled chamber extends above the surface of the water; valve means for selectively admitting air at a predeter- -mined rate from said flexible walled chamber into said hollow body thus to reduce the volume of said flexible walled chamber upon expulsion of the air therefrom,

- thereby to decrease the buoyant force upon said toy exerted by the water in which-said toy is disposed, said valve means being adapted to readmit the air exhausted from said flexible wall chamber at a rate slower than Saidpredetermined rate thereby to cause said flexible walled chamber toagain assume its original volume.

4. A toy adapted for submersion and ascension within a tank of water including: a substantially rigid hollow body of a-predetermined shape, said body defining a first opening through the upper wall thereof; a flexible walled chamber defining a second opening, said flexible walled chamber being connected to said body so that the first and second openings are in communication, said toy being adapted to floatin water so that only part of said art;

flexible walled chamber extends above the surface of water; valve means for exhausting air trapped within said flexible walled chamber upon compression of the walls thereof; said air being forced into said rigid hollow body thereby creating a partial vacuum within said flexible walled chamber thus to reduce the volume of said flexible walled chamber, said valve means including a relatively thin elastic diaphragm having at least one opening near the edge thereof, said diaphragm being connected across said second opening, said diaphragm being adapted to be sucked within said flexible walled chamber when air is exhausted therefrom thereby to close said opening, said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,271,272 Bunkley July 2, 1918 2,306,284 Seidl June 10, 1919 2,589,716 Marsh Mar. 18, 1952 2,604,297 Winstead July 22, 1952 

